JD Vance issues stunning threat of military action against Russia if Kremlin won't agree to peace
JD Vance made a stunning threat of United States military action against Russia if Vladimir Putin won't agree to a peace deal with Ukraine.
Vance told the Wall Street Journal that ‘everything is on the table’ in an effort to guarantee Kyiv's long-term independence as Trump prepares to meet with his Russian counterpart and iron out a deal.
'There are economic tools of leverage, there are of course military tools of leverage' the U.S. could use against Putin,' Vance told the newspaper.
Vance teased the prospect of a peace plan while insisting that the president would not hold back when it came to negotiating with Putin.
'The president is not going to go in this with blinders on. He´s going to say, "Everything is on the table, let´s make a deal,"' Vance said.
'I think there is a deal that is going to come out of this that´s going to shock a lot of people.'
Trump said earlier Thursday that he 'trusts' Vladimir Putin when the Russian leader says he wants peace in Ukraine.
The comments came a day after Trump and Putin spoke for 90 minutes by phone, and European allies accused him of giving away concessions in advance of talks to end the war.
Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Hegseth said in Brussels Thursday that sending in American troops was not an option and appeared prepared to concede land in Ukraine.
JD Vance has gone against Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth and suggested that the US is prepared for military action in Russia if Vladimir Putin won't agree to a peace deal with Ukraine
Trump said earlier Thursday that he 'trusts' Vladimir Putin when the Russian leader says he wants peace in Ukraine
Trump ordered American officials to begin talks on ending the nearly three-year-long conflict after speaking with Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
The president said: 'I believe President Putin when I spoke to him yesterday. I know him very well. I think he wants peace. I think he would tell me if he didn’t.
'I trust him on this subject. I think he’d like to see something happen.'
Trump also said he would 'love' to have Russia back in the G7 – the group of economic powerhouses that it was ejected from after annexing Crimea from Ukraine.
'I'd love to have them back. I think it was a mistake to throw them out,' he said. 'Look, it's not a question of liking Russia or not liking Russia. It was the G8.
'I said, "What are you doing? You guys - all you're talking about is Russia and they should be sitting at the table". I think Putin would love to be back.'
The phone calls came shortly after Hegseth told Ukraine's military allies that a return to the country's pre-2014 borders - before Russia annexed Crimea - was unrealistic and that the U.S. does not see NATO membership for Kyiv as part of a solution.
Trump backed up that view when asked about it.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in Brussels Thursday that sending in American troops was not on the table as a means to broker peace
Hegseth told Ukraine's military allies that a return to the country's pre-2014 borders - before Russia annexed Crimea - was unrealistic and that the U.S. does not see NATO membership for Kyiv as part of a solution
'I thought his comments were good yesterday and probably good today,' Trump said about his defense chief. 'They're a little bit softer, perhaps, but I thought his comments, I thought his comments yesterday, were pretty accurate.'
'I don't see any way that a country in Russia's position could allow them, just in their position, could allow them to join NATO,' Trump said.
DailyMail.com has reached out to the White House for comment.
With a potential Trump-Putin meeting in Saudi Arabia at an unknown time, Trump also said he wants talks on military spending cuts with Russia and China.
Ukrainians on Thursday worried that Trump was preparing to sell out their country following his phone call Putin.
However, Trump on Thursday said that Ukraine would be involved in peace talks with Russia. He told reporters at the White House that Ukraine would have a seat at the table during any peace negotiations with Russia over ending the war.
Kyiv said it would be premature to speak with Moscow at a security conference on Friday.
Meanwhile, European diplomats have expressed their fury over Trump's proposed peace talks with Russia over the fate of Ukraine.
Ukrainians on Thursday worried that Trump was preparing to sell out their country following his phone call Putin
In a blunt address to reporters at NATO talks in Brussels, EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas insisted that no deal 'behind our backs' could work, as she accused Washington of 'appeasement' towards Russia.
'We shouldn't take anything off the table before the negotiations have even started because it plays to Russia's court and it is what they want,' she said.
'Any quick fix is a dirty deal,' she said. 'It will just simply not work.'
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said it was 'not very pleasant' that Trump had called Putin first before speaking to him, adding the US president had said he wanted to speak to both leaders together.
The Ukrainian leader - who is set to meet US Vice President JD Vance in Munich on Friday - said he wanted to hammer out a 'plan to stop Putin' with the United States before any talks happen.
Throughout Russia's war on Ukraine since 2022 it has been a mantra for Western powers that there should be no decisions taken on Ukraine's future without Kyiv.
